Rural mail box



1935- H. A. STEINBRONN RURAL MAIL BOX Filed June 20, 1955 gvwc/wtoc H. A. STcin bronn Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

My invention relates to mail boxes and especially to mail boxes of the kind used on rural free delivery routes. Its primary object is the provision of a mail box which is of the utmost convenience to both the owner of the box and to the mail carrier.

Another and very important object of the invention is the provision of a mail box having a full opening for inserting and withdrawing lettersand packages so as to fully utilize the space within the mail box and so as to prevent the tearing or injury to letters and parcels in their insertion or withdrawal.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a mail box with a full opening and with a closure having a relatively tight but yieldable seal against the mouth of the mail box so as to prevent to a large extent the entrance of rain and snow.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a mail box with a full opening and with a closure which is yieldably latched in either closing or opening position, none of the latching mechanism being inside the mail box to interfere with the insertion or withdrawal of the mail.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a signal which may be latched in operative position.

Another and also very important object of the invention is the provision of a mail box having a full opening within access of the mail carrier during delivery of the mail, together with a closure-which moves entirely within the plane of the mouth of the mail box.

I also have in View the provision of structural features which materially strengthen the mail box, some of these structures entering into the latching mechanism.

Having in view these objects and others which will be pointed out in the following description, I will now refer to the drawing, in which Figure 1 is a view in isometric projection showing the entire mail box with the closure in closing position and with the signal in its operative position.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the closure in opening position and the signal (Cl. 232E3 1) vantage of a mail box of the larger size, it is 5 necessary that the mouth be sufiiciently large to permit the entrance of parcels which would fill theinterior of the mailbox. In other words, the mouth'must be equal to the cross section of the mail' box. It is also obvious that any latching or hinging mechanism employed in the mail box must be outside and not inside the mail box where it will interfere with the insertion or withdrawal of the mail. It is also obvious that the closure to the mouth must not be hinged in the manner of the smaller mail boxes as such closures in the larger mail boxes would be of a size such that they would be apt to be struck by the mail carriers automobile or by other vehiclesapproaching too close to the mouth of the mail box. I overcome this .difiiculty by swinging the closure in the plane of the mouth of the mail boxand I' obtain the full opening by swinging the closure about a hinge outside the mail box.

The mail box H) is preferably oval in form so as to better shed the rain and snow which falls upon it, at the same time securing an advantage when the mail box is packed full. The box is heavily ribbed at H for strengthening purposes, the ribs being formed by means of beads on the outside of the mail box so as not to decrease the space within the mail box. The back of the mail box is closed in the usual manner while the'front is open. At'the front edges there is an outturned roll l2 which is best shown in Fig. 3. This roll is also so formed as not to decrease the size of the mouth.

The closure I3 is provided in its rear side with a groove which seats over the roll 52 as best shown in Figure 3. When thus seated on the 40 roll 12, the closure will prevent the entrance of snow and water especially if it is tightly held against the roll 12.

A bracket I4 is secured to the upper wall of the mail box with an arm projecting upwardly and in alignment with the closure l3. The upwardly projecting portion of the bracket M is provided with an aperture 15 which serves as a pivot bearing. A strap i6 is firmly secured to the closure l3 at its outer side, partly for strengthening purposes and partly for cooperating with the latching mechanism, the rib I6 extending above the level of the mail box as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3. This ribis necessarily curved at H with a groove in its rear side to receive the curved portion 18 of the closure l3. The upwardly projecting portion of the strap I6 is also provided with an aperture which is in alignment with the aperture i5 when the latching mechanism is assembled. The strap l6 also has a knob l9 or other suitable handle at its lower extremity.

A flag or other indicating device has a flag staff 20 which consists of a flat piece of metal terminating in a rounded portion at its upper end as shown in Figure 1. The rounded portion clamps the metal flag 2| at its edge so that it may be further secured to the flag 2| as by welding or soldering. The flag stafi 20 is also' provided with an aperture which is in alignment with the aperture I5 in the assembled latch. The assembly is shown in Figure 3. A pivot bolt 22 is passed through the apertures of the strap It, the bracket l4 and the flag staff 20. The rearwardly projecting portion of the bolt 22 is surrounded by a coiled spring 23 which abuts against the flag staff 20 at its forward extremity and against tensioning nuts 24 at its rear extremity. The head of the bolt under the tension of the spring will tend to hold the closure i3 tightly against the mouth of the mail box and at the same time the pressure of the spring 23 against the flag stair 20 will hold the flag staff tightly against the upward projection of the bracket M.

The structural arrangement which I show in my drawing includes also a latch for yieldably holding the parts in any of various positions. As shown in Figure 4 the forward face of the upwardly projecting portion or" the bracket 14 is provided with a pair of conical sockets 25a. A similar socket 251) is formed in the rear of the upwardly projecting portion of the bracket M as shown in Figure 3. Two rearwardly projecting buttons 26 are secured to the strap l6, my preferred construction through the strap with the rivet heads projecting rearwardly. These buttons 26 must be of a size such as to readily enter the sockets 25a and they must be spaced to conform to the spacing of the sockets. The spring 23 will yield sufiiciently to permit the buttons 26 to enter or to lead out of the sockets 25a. In the same manner the flag staff 20 is provided with a button 21 which may enter the socket 251) when the flag is in its operative position.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that I have provided a mail box of large capacity, with a mouth providing a full opening to the mail box. I'also provide a weathertight relation between the closure and the mail box, the closure being yieldably held against the mouth or" the mail box and being so pivoted that it may be swung into a position such that the mouth of the mail box will be fully opened and unobstructed. I further provide means for yieldably latching the closure in closing position.

The mail box is also characterized by the fact that there is no mechanism inside the mail box to obstruct the insertion or withdrawal of mail matter regardless of how densely the mail is packed into the mail box. I also provide a signal with a yieldable latch for holding the signal in its operative position, the signal having the same pivot as that of the closure. While the uniting elements are common to the signal and closure, either of these is operable independently of the other. i

My mail box is further characterized by the ease and convenience of operation from the standpoints of both the mail carrier and the being to pass rivets owner of the mail box. The mail carrier may drive up as closely as he desires to the mail box without danger of injury to the mail box. Regardless of the position of the closure it cannot project into the path of the mail delivery vehicle. Since the pivot of the closure is above the mail box, the closure will have a tendency due to its weight to fall to closing position subject to the tension of the spring. With the pivot below the mail box as common in the prior mail boxes, the tendency of the closure would be to swing to open position.

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear, and exact terms thatits construction and operation will be readily understood by otherS skilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A mail box having a full openingin the forward side thereof, the edge of said mail box at the opening thereof comprising an outturned roll, a closure having a groove in its rear side for receiving said roll, an L-shaped bracket secured to the top of said mail box with an arm projecting upwardly in the plane of the opening of said mail box, a vertical strap secured to said closure to project upwardly in parallel relation and in close proximity to said upwardly projecting arm,

a pivot pin passing through said strap and through said upwardly projecting arm, a rear abutment on said pivot pin, a spring surrounding the rearwardly projecting portion of said pivot pin for yieldably urging said closure into intimate contact with said roll when said closure is in its 7 closing position, a button projecting rearwardly from the upwardly projecting portion of said strap, and a conical socket in said upwardly projecting arm for seating said button under the influence of said spring when said closure is in closing position.

2. A mail box having a full opening in the forward side thereof, the edge of said mail box at the opening thereof comprising an outturned roll, a closure having a groove in its rear side for receiving said roll, an L-shaped bracket secured to the top of said mail box with an arm projecting upwardly in the plane of the opening of said mail box, a vertical strap secured to said closure to project upwardly in parallel relation and in close proximity to said upwardly projecting arm, a flag staff, a bolt passing through said strap and through said upwardly projecting arm and through said flag staff for pivotally connecting said closure and said flag staff to the arm projecting upwardly from said mail box, said bolt having a rear extension and having its head abutting against said strap, a nut at the rear extremity of said bolt, a spring surrounding.

said bolt with the extremities of said spring abutting against said flag staff and against said nut respectively, a rearwardly projecting button on the upper portion of said rearwardstrap, and a forwardly projecting button on said flag staff, said upwardly projecting arm being provided with a forward socket for receiving said rearwardly projecting button when said closure is in said closing position and being also provided with a rear socket for receiving said forwardly projecting button when said flag staff is in vertical position.

.I-IERMAN A. STEINBRONN; 

